July, 2019
Today was a day for exploration and education. The internet told me there was a salmon hatchery and, separately, a trout hatchery in the area … both of them on the Cowlitz River, and both within an hour or so drive from Big Creek Campground. So off I went!
First up … the salmon hatchery.
Rather than type in lengthy descriptions here of how these hatchery systems operate, I’ll simply post photos of signs that I found at this hatchery. As always, click to enlarge.
I’ll warn you right now, July (when I was here) is the wrong time of year to go to a fish hatchery if you want to see any fish! Spring and fall are the best times. I knew that, but I still wanted to see these two places and figured there wouldn’t be many other tourist type people here. Ha! there was absolutely no one at either hatchery except the employees and me. I prowled around all I wanted. 🙂
So … here’s how the system works …
Photo below … fish ladder to the left and in the center … barrier dam in the distance in the upper right.
At the top of the fish ladder (above), was this conglomeration of fences and gates and mechanical contraptions (below). The structure and its mechanisms (below) are where the fish are separated after they (the fish) have climbed the fish ladder.
Photos of the juvenile rearing ponds are below, along with one photo that includes a few of the people who work here. I walked around quite a bit and took several photos. At one point, those four people in the first photo below were entering a gate into one of the “raceway” rearing pond areas, right next to where I was standing at the time. They all waved and said hi … the last fellow to enter stopped to chat with me. (This was the fellow in the dark blue t-shirt in the photo below.) He had a rich, deep Scottish accent, so we ended up talking more about Scotland than about fish rearing. (My ancestors are Scottish and I’ve been there twice.)
He told me that the Pacific Northwest feels just like Scotland, though he also yearns to go home. Home for him are the farm lands and rivers and glens north of Dundee (which is the same general area that my ancestors are from). I asked him if he was familiar with Meigle and the ancient stones of the Picts … he grinned from ear to ear! He told me his family had lived in that area as far back as they knew, so they were sure they were descended from the Picts. He asked me how I knew about that. I told him I’d been in Meigle, in the building with many of the ancient carved stones, and had felt so deep in my heart, in my very bones, that I had come home … so strong it brought tears to my eyes and all I wanted to do was hold fast to those stones. This fellow in the dark blue t-shirt got real quiet, his eyes got a bit moist, and then he said to me “then lass you were home, and you and I both need to go home again.”
Well, I did enjoy seeing these hatcheries, but that fellow in the dark blue t-shirt made my day.
Juvenile “raceways” or rearing ponds for young salmon (above and below).
After visiting the salmon hatchery, I was ready for lunch. This time I had planned ahead and brought my lunch with me in the truck. Near the hatchery, on the banks of the river, but down-river from the barrier dam, was a rustic park area with a few picnic tables and a boat ramp so folks could access the river with small fishing boats. I pulled in there in my truck and ate my lunch while watching the river.
It was the middle of the week … no one was in sight except the fellow below, fishing.
After lunch, I drove down the road a piece to find the trout hatchery. Who knew who I would find there to talk with there … or what country they’d be from.
Unfortunately, except for one small public display room, all of the buildings and gates to all areas were locked up tight, and there was not another human to be found anywhere.
That one display room did have an interesting exhibit of egg and fish development … photos below.
Above … day 33.
Above … day 125.
Photo above … a map/overview of the trout hatchery grounds, ponds, and buildings. Notice the road along the north shore of the river, and the parking lot and boat ramp in the upper left of the map above. I drove out that road, parked, and walked down the boat ramp to the river’s edge.
It’s a nice river!
So peaceful.
It really is peaceful looking. I love that it’s not crowded.
As much as I would have liked to have chatted with some folks at the trout hatchery, I was just as happy that it was so quiet. I can go back in the fall and get the full spawning-fish experience along with all the tourists, if I want. Yep, I love seeing things without the crowds for sure.
Great information, made me go look up about hatcheries online, and realized I don’t know anything about them. Really appreciate the incentive to learn, and your photos are really nice.
Thanks Nevada. When I go camping, it gets me out of the house and out in the world. I know some folks go camping to get out and relax. Me … I get out to go explore and learn. Thanks for coming along.
Isn’t that a really long chute for the fish to swim up? I’ve never seen anything that long. Great interaction with that Scottish guy, bet that made him feel good too.
Yes, I thought the same thing Tim. I’ve never seen a fish “chute” that long either. This one didn’t seem to add any height between the river and the fish ladder, so I wonder why it was so long … maybe just the layout of the other buildings and ponds and mechanisms required that the separating devices were built further away, so a long chute was needed. I sure hope that Scottish fellow gets home right soon! Maybe on my next trip to Scotland, I’ll see him there.